People nowadays are more concerned about the general safety and hygiene standards before ordering or purchasing any food items. They avoid buying edible products that lack FSSAI authentication. Today FSSAI logo serves as the sole indicator of quality for food items. Therefore, it becomes important for FBOs to stay in line with FSSAI guidelines and produce safer products for end-users. In this blog, you will come across the legalities for obtaining the FSSAI license in Tamil Nadu.
Role of Food Safety and Standards Authority
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (aka FSSAI) is a government-backed avenue set up under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. The entity has been set up to underpin science-based standards for food items and to administer the overall supply chain of the food, right from manufacturing to retailing.
The Food and Safety Act, 2006 came into existence after the systematic compilation of the following Acts that existed earlier:
- Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954;
- Meat Food Products Order, 1973;
- Fruit Products Order, 1955;
- Edible Oils Packaging (Regulation) Order 1988;
- Vegetable Oil Products (Control) Order, 1947;
- Solvent Extracted Oil, De-Oiled Meal and Edible Flour (Control) Order, 1967;
- Milk and Milk Products Order, 1992, and a few others.
The newly framed Act aimed to set up a single reference point for aspects o food safety & standards. For this purpose, the Act leads to the establishment of an autonomous statutory authority, namely FSSAI.
Let’s proceed to the next section that talks about the conditions to be met by FBOs before getting the FSSAI license in Tamil Nadu[1].
Conditions to be met by FBOs before Getting Food License
A Food license is granted in compliance with the given checklist which all FBOs are bound to comply with without any second thought. Every food business operator seeking an FSSAI license in Tamil Nadu needs to abide by these conditions.
- All FBOs must coordinate with licensing authorities to the fullest when it comes to on-site inspection of the business place.
- The concerned authorities must be aware of any changes made to the operational protocol.
- A person other than the proven technical background is not eligible to supervise the production process. A person designated to administer the production process must have a diploma/degree in one of the following areas:
Science with Chemistry/Biochemistry/Food & nutrition/ /Food Technology (Degree or Diploma)/ Microbiology/ Dairy Technology/ / Dairy Chemistry/ Dairy Microbiology /Dairy engineering/ veterinary science/ Oil technology/ Hotel Management & Catering technology
- The appointment of at least one individual with technical background for handling the production process is mandatory. Such a person must have a degree in one of the following areas:
Science with Chemistry/Biochemistry/Food & nutrition/ /Food Technology (Degree or Diploma)/ Microbiology/ Dairy Technology/ / Dairy Chemistry/ Dairy Microbiology /Dairy engineering/ veterinary science/ Oil technology/ Hotel Management & Catering technology
- The registered FBOs must file the annual tax returns by the 31st of May.
- Production of non-registered food items is prohibited as per FSSAI’s norms.
- FBOs should maintain sanitation and hygiene standards of their premises as per norms cited under schedule-4.
- There is a compulsion for maintaining separate records for raw materials utilization, sales, and production.
- FBOs must procure raw material from FSSAI/FDA-approved suppliers.
- Proper hygiene standards should exist within the premises used for manufacturing, procurement, and sale of food items.
- Productions and other food-related units are bound to install a system in place for proper and timely cleaning of equipment for food processing.
- Periodic testing of food items for possible chemical or microbiological contaminations is a mandate for every food operator.
- All FBOs are bound to follow specified temperature limits for the entire supply chain of the food items.
- The owner of hotels, restaurants and other eating houses engaged with the selling of sweets & other food articles must notify their customers about the food articles cooked in edible oil, ghee, vanaspati, and other facts.
- FBO’s engaged with the selling of cooked and prepared food items must notify their customers about the nature of food items sold.
- Manufacturers and wholesalers of commodities like edible sold, butter, solvent extracted oil, ghee, edible flour, and other fats must have a record of the quantity of manufactured articles, commodities received or sold, the nature of soil seed utilized & the quantity of the edible floor and de-oiled meal used, etc. FBOs cannot produce such products in the absence of an in-house lab facility.
- Food items with inappropriate labeling should remain isolated from the general public or customers.
Read our article:FSSAI Norms for Statutory Warning on Alcoholic Beverages
An overview on Fee Structure for getting an FSSAI License in Tamil Nadu
The following table manifest the fee structure for obtaining the FSSAI license in Tamil Nadu
| Type of Entity/Production capacity | Applicable Fee (INR) |
| If the production limit is higher than 1 MT/day | 5,000 |
| If the yearly production of dairy products like milk and milk solid ranges between 10,000 -50,000 LPD and 501 -25000 MT respectively | 5,000 |
| Production units having production capacity lower than 1 MT | 3,000 |
| If the yearly production of dairy products like milk and milk solid ranges between 501 to 10,000 LPD and 2.5 MT to 500 MT respectively | 3,000 |
| Hotels rated with 4-star or below | 5,000 |
| Food Service Providers | 2,000 |
The fee relating to license renewal varies in accordance with the validity period opted by the applicant. A duplicate license is granted by submitting a fee amounting to 10% of the applicable license fee.
Documents required for availing FSSAI license in Tamil Nadu
The paperwork for obtaining a food license differs in accordance with the type of FSSAI License that an applicant wished for.
Here is the listicle of documents required for Grant of New License
- A detailed schematic of the processing unit
- Food Safety Management Plan or certificate
- List of active partners, proprietors, Directors, members of the society/trust along with contract info for manufacturing and processing units
- List of machinery available at the manufacturing/processing units, along with the installed capacity and number
- Power utilization of the manufacturing/processing units in terms of horsepower
- Water test report issued by the certified authority.
- Residential as well as address proof of the Partner/ Proprietor/ Authorized signatory Director
- List of food categories processed or manufactured at the establishment.
- List of ingredients added in a food items being product at the facility.
- Chemical & bacteriological analysis report issued by a recognized/public health laboratory.
- Evidentiary proof reflecting the ownership of premises.
- Partnership Deed for entities registered as a partnership firm
- Affidavit of Proprietorship ( applicable for entities registered as proprietorship firms)
- MOA and AOA for entities operating as a private, public, or One-Person Company
- Copy of Certificate
- Co-operative society registration issued by the Registrar of Co-operative Societies, Tamil Nadu.
- NOC & a license’s copy granted by the manufacturer (meant for re-labelers and re-packers).
- Food Safety Management Plan or certificate
- Details of the source of raw material
- Pesticide residues report for entities involved with the product potable or carbonated water.
- No Objection Certificate (NOC) issued by the municipality or local body.
- Nomination of individual in Form IX attested with the board resolution
- Certificate obtained from the Ministry of Tourism (for hotels).
- Supporting paperwork reflecting turnover or number of vehicles (for transporters)
- Declaration Form (for Delhi & Himachal Pradesh)
Online filing of Food License Application
- Open the FSSAI portal (FOSCoS) on your desktop browser.
- Create the account via the Captcha verification procedure.
- Login to the portal and open the new application form drop-down menu located on the left section.
- Select State>Type of business>Turnover limit to open the e-form.
- Once the e-form is opened, provide the requested details including type of food items being produces or processed at the facility.
- Click “Save and Next” button at the bottom of the form to open the document section.
- Upload the requested documents in the permissible format as cited on the form.
- Once done, move to payment section by clicking “Save and Next button”.
- Make the online payment.
Conclusion
Entities seeking FSSAI license in Tamil Nadu need to abide by the conditions mentioned above. Accurate paperwork is crucial when it comes to obtaining government registrations and food licenses in no different here. Make sure to double-check the documents before uploading them on the FSSAI portal during the registration process to negate the chances of cancellation.
Read our article:Easily Register Your FSSAI License in Kolkata- Required Documents and Fees
